1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a skate with in-line wheels, the usage of which is related to the technique of ice skating.
2. Discussion of Background and Relevant Information
The aforementioned type of skate is intended for training ice skaters outside the skating rink, as well as for all athletic people desiring to maintain or perfect the techniques used in gliding sports such as downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, ice skating, etc., on a hard surface of asphalt, cement, etc.
Just as in those sports, the practice of this sport consists of a motive or propulsive phase in which the skate is pushed toward the outside and the consequently inclining wheels are leaned upon, analogously to digging in the edges of an ice skate blade, then a gliding phase, executed by repositioning the wheels perpendicular to the ground.
In this same technique of skating on in-line wheels, braking is accomplished by lateral drag of the inclined wheels or conversely by opposition.
Turns are also executed by leaning laterally on the wheels.
The wheels used at this time for in-line roller skates consist generally of at least one bearing intended to be made solid with an axle and on which is mounted an elastic envelope, the central part of which consists of a tire which is extended laterally into two flanks.
It is easily understood that the proper functioning of these skates as well as their longevity depends on the quality of these bearings.
Now this quality, however good it may be, is directly influenced by the particular conditions of use of the skates which are particularly exposed to splashes of water, to dusty environments, and generally to all sorts of soiling coming from the surfaces they move on.
To overcome this drawback, a well-known technique consists of using sealed bearings, which are widely distributed in the trade but which have the major inconvenience of a cost that is 1.5 to 2 times higher than that of a non-sealed wheel of equivalent quality.